Injury sidelines Matfield for three weeks

Apr 7, 2015 - 4:17 PM Bulls and Springboks lock Victor Matfield will have cartilage removed from his knee and miss three rounds of the Super Rugby season.

The most capped South African, with 121 Test appearances, will have the surgery on Wednesday and has been ruled out of fixtures against the Queensland Reds and South African outfits the Sharks and Stormers.

Matfield is expected to be available for the May 2 southern hemisphere inter-provincial championship fixture with the Lions at the Bulls' Pretoria stadium Loftus Versfeld.

Although he will turn 38 in May, the 2.01-metre forward is considered a certainty for the 2015 Rugby World Cup in England.

A couple of possible Springboks squad locks - the Sharks' Pieter-Steph du Toit and the Cheetahs' Lood de Jager - have been sidelined this season with long-term injuries.

Source: AAP